What most people didn't realize was that on that night in 1970, Dock Ellis was tripping his balls off.

He didn't admit to it publicly until the 1980s. I recall reading the story; it was just a blurb, actually. After that, I never heard too much about it.

Dock Ellis is a somewhat forgotten American character.

I remember being at a game in Three Rivers Stadium, back in the early '70s, and he was sent in to pinch-run. He wasn't wearing a hat and he had curlers on. He was also wearing a Steelers jacket. The ump told him to take it off, so he did. He didn't have anything on underneath. The crowd roared.

About that night in 1970:

"I didn't pay no attention to the score, you know. I'm trying to get the batters out. And I'm throwin' a crazy game. I'm hittin' people, walkin' people, throwin' balls in the dirt. They going everywhere!

"It was easier to pitch with the LSD because I was so used to medicating myself. That's the way I was dealing with the fear of failure, the fear of losing, the fear of winning."